2010

Muslim Mayor For The Netherland's Second Largest City?

By BEILA RABINOWITZ and WILLIAM MAYER

October 19, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - This week, the Rotterdam city council proposed that Ahmed Aboutaleb [PvdA , Labor Party] - a Muslim Moroccan immigrant and the present State Secretary for Social Affairs - should become the next mayor of this key Dutch city.

Geert Wilders the head of the Freedom party and a frequent critic of radical Muslim activity declared, "A Moroccan as mayor of the second largest city in Holland is just as crazy as a Dutchman as mayor of Mecca" [Aboutaleb would be a] "better mayor of Rabat in Morocco than mayor of Rotterdam. In a short time we will have an imam as archbishop. Craziness."

The position of Wilders' PVV [Freedom Party] is that Aboutaleb is unqualified to be mayor because, among other reasons, he has dual nationality, both Dutch and Moroccan, which could forseeably lead to loyalty issues.

About Aboutaleb's candidacy, the head for the party Livable Rotterdam [Leefbaar Rotterdam], Ronald Sorenson, proclaimed that, "The PvdA pushes Ahmed Aboutaleb to the fore because he is a Moroccan?It is not cleverly thought out to chose a representative of a group which is causing problems throughout all of Holland."

Sorensen further opined, "There are a large group of Rotterdammers who feel themselves slowly becoming estranged from their own city?These people see that the streets are controlled by Moroccan and Antillianse hooligans.To put in a Moroccan mayor only makes their feeling of estrangement greater..."

On Liveable Rotterdam's website the appointment of Aboutaleb was referred to as, "an affront to democracy."

The National Committee of Moroccans [LBM] has applauded Aboutaleb's appointment, stating, "The Moroccan community is writing history by providing such a large and leading city with its lord mayor."

Rotterdam is already 40% Muslim and is predicted to become Europe's first Muslim majority city.